"Are you thinking of using the public training ground for the knights, or will you prefer your own one?" Friar asked.
Lillian glanced at the training knights as she and Friar walked past the grounds. The clangs of swords meeting and the loud cheers of knights that were taking a break and keenly watching their friend's train played in the air. Her eyes zeroed in on a knight with crimson hair. His sweaty brows were furrowed, and he held a towel to his cheek. His gaze was fixed on the other knights. He wore modest black trousers and a white loose fabric that Lillian would barely call a shirt, not with most of his chiseled chest being exposed.
She silently cheered at the pleasing sight. She was a grown adult, she could appreciate the view.
The joy of this being a typical piece of fiction. The key characters stood out. Lance Von Golan, a powerful knight loyal to Kiligar. He followed Calen after Hosyn's destruction. The irony was that a lot of Calen's party came from Hosyn. Lillian wondered how it would play out since Hosyn wasn't going to be destroyed. She'd have to interfere to make sure Calen still had his party.
Lillian looked back at Friar and smiled. The woman's lovely face lit up with the simple action. Friar's fascinated eyes ate at Lillian's peaceful expression. Lillian kept the look on her face. She softened her eyes and resolved to be more obvious with her expressions around Friar.
"I'd prefer my own. I don't have the most positive relationship with my father's knights."
The assumption was made due to her charisma and the servant's reaction. Lillian could safely guess that the knights wouldn't be happy with her intruding on their training space. Even if seeing all the well built sweaty men would be good for her eyes.
Friar frowned and shook her head. Her blond locks danced through the air. As she stared at the knights who fired them curious looks or dark ones if they were aimed at Lillian, she seemed dissatisfied.
"They are to be your knights, too. If they show even a single shred of disrespect, we will execute them." Friar scowled, and Lillian chuckled. Such harsh words from a sweet-looking woman. Lillian grinned. Kiligar wouldn't have picked a weak-willed woman. It made sense with his personality.
"Let's not blame them for my own terrible personality. I will feel better with my own space, mother. Let's leave it at that." Lillian consoled.
"Leko, understand that you will be the Duke of Hosyn someday. These men need to understand that they cannot treat you ill-"
Lillian shook her head and sighed. Never, she would never accept the role of head.
"Mohara will be the head." Lillian interrupted Leko's mother, who blinked at her.
"What?"
Friar stopped and stared at her. Lillian laughed at the woman's expression. Some of the knights who had started paying attention to them jerked and stared at Lillian with wide eyes. Lance's eyes stayed glued on Lillian and Friar as they walked. He tilted his head.
"I won't be Duke anything. It's Mohara's spot." Lillian shrugged.
She glanced and saw Lance choking as the knight scrambled to help him. His wide eyes were fixed on Lillian, who arched a brow. The knight glanced away and waved at the other knights, who stepped away from him.
"Leko, she may be older but-" Friar tried to protest but Lillian wasn't having it.
"Mohara wanted to be head of the family since she was a sniffling brat mother. I am not getting in her way." Lillian shook her head. She'd run from this family if that was the only choice she had. She refused to do more paperwork.
"Leko… Mohara can't be the head, the king's rule-"
Lillian scowled at the reminder of that sexist bastard.
"I'll change it," she said.
Her goal of never having to do paperwork was at stake. Lillian would willingly sacrifice a bit of her leisure time in order to get Mohara as the head of the family. A small price to pay to get the enormous obstacle out of her way.
Friar stared at her, speechless. So did Lance. Lillian eyed the knight from the side of her vision.
"The king is getting old and will step down soon. There are three princes. I can make a deal with at least one. Mother, what type of Hosyn am I? If I can't help my sister achieve her dreams? Family is what we're all about, isn't it?
It was the Hosyn family motto 'family above all else'. They said the Hosyn family even valued family over the kingdom. Not that it was ever shown in the novel. With them all being dead.
"Do as you want, but those are some big claims." Friar sighed and smiled at her. They started walking again. Lillian shrugged and shared a happy smile with Friar. That was the same as giving Lillian her consent.
Leaving the training grounds, they passed through one of the gardens. Along the cobblestone path, they passed through green archways filled with blooming blue and white peonies. It opened to a majestic space with a glistening fountain in the center. The enchanted garden was shrouded in blue and white flowers, with a few purple ones breaking the lovely pattern. Lillian couldn't help but smile at the impressive sight. It seemed so peaceful. There was a stone table with seats that sat snugly at the far back with a perfect view of the entire garden.
Later, she had to grab a book and sit there for a bit.
The castle grounds were beautiful, as expected of a fantasy setting. Lillian didn't think she'd ever get tired of gazing at this place.
Lillian hummed as she heard clashing metal. Her eyes flicked to the exit that they were heading for. The sound of metal against metal became louder the further they walked.
Friar giggled as they turned a corner and saw a little girl flat on her butt, pouting at a frozen piece of armor. Lillian blinked at the sight and stopped walking. The little girl stood and dragged her blade up. The armor's sword clashed with hers as she ran at it. Lillian blinked a few more times and snorted. The weapon was too big for the child's body.
The little girl spun at the sound and froze at the sight of her and Friar.
"L-L-Leko!" the girl shrieked. She dropped the sword and bolted in the opposite direction of her and Friar. Lillian stared at the girl, flabbergasted, while Friar shook her head with a sorrowful smile.
What the hell had Leko done to his sister!?
"You're awake, I'm glad." A small, polite voice drew her attention.
Looking down at the little version of the Duke, Lillian tried smiling and not showing how much the younger girl's actions had thrown her. The kid didn't look at all surprised at his sister running like her life was on the line.
"Bilair," Lillian murmured as she eyed the kid. Bilair and his sister were both seven years old when the hero's start line began, but the kid looked too small to be seven. He looked too small to be reading the book he was clutching in his hands. "How old are you?"
Bilair tilted his head. He glanced at his mother, who smiled at him in encouragement.
"I'm five, and so is Moir."
Two years. Lillian frowned for a second before grinning. Bilair's eyes widen.
There were two years before things started heading to hell. Lillian could work with that. It gave her time to train. This world didn't allow the weak to survive. Bilair's eyes shook as she started biting at her nails and muttering to herself.
"Mother… is brother okay?" Bilair glanced between Friar and Lillian, who stopped biting her nails and blinked at the boy. He stepped back.
"He's fine. You'll understand when you're older." Friar smiled at her son before looking back at Lillian with a peaceful smile.
-Jaika greets her Hunter.-
A green notification caught the attention of three family members. Lillian tilted her head. The book spoke of blue notification screens.
"I thought-" Bilair tilted his head, "-it was blue?"
-Jaika thinks blue is boring.-
"Thank you for sponsoring my son," Friar said.
-Jaika feels that she should be thankful that her Hunter accepted.-
"Awww, you got a good one." Friar's smile shone. Only to dim a second later.
-Jaika is setting up a quest.-
Lillian scratched her nose and murmured curses. Not even one day. She glanced up at the frowning Friar. Lillian smiled calmly.
"Jaika seemed like a good one, mother. I'm tired after all the walking. I'll head back to my room." Lillian kept her smile in place as Friar relaxed and nodded at her.
"All right, but I expect you at the breakfast table tomorrow morning."
"I'll be there." Lillian said in lieu of a greeting. She gently patted Biliar's head who froze at the contact.
Lillian left the family and followed Faier and Kurio back to her room.
Flopping down on the couch. Lillian waited for the quest to load. Usually, gods had quests ready. It seemed Jaika decided to make one on the spot. Lillian moved back to her room in the meantime.
-Quest Alert-
-Hunter Training-
-Duration: 2 Years-
-Get all stats to 20 before the deadline-
-Pick up a skill with a weapon-
-Level your weapon up to rank D-
-Level up to rank D-
-Current status: Strength: 4. Dexterity: 4. Constitution: 4. Intelligence: 27. Wisdom: 31. Charisma: -28. Perception: 4.-
-Rewards: a skill, 2000 EXP-
-Failure: a disappointed Jaika-
Two years. It was the exact time before Calen would show up. Lillian frowned at the notification. At least the failure didn't result in imminent death. Gods liked death as a motivation.
Lillian threw her hand over her eyes.
There was no option to accept or decline the quest. Jaika, as her sponsored god, could make any quests she gave mandatory. It wasn't much of a problem for this particular quest. It worked for her fine. Lillian was more worried about the future. She hoped that there wouldn't be any quests conflicting with her plans.
Lillian stared at the roof. This world is described as a beauty beyond imagination in the book. The more you read, the clearer one fact became.
This world was hell disguised as heaven.
Lakes of acid. Weather patterns changed without notice. Demons that feasted on humans. Overpowered monsters. Creatures of fable that raged. Nature itself was alive and terrifying. Gods that used humans as slaves. This entire world was against humans. It was like the world existed just to kill them off. It was dark, twisted, and dangerous.
This world was a terror, but it was home now. Lillian had to make sure she would live. Her electric eyes glowed with resolve.
When the sun set and rose again in the morning, Lillian would be someone else. There was no point for her to cling to an old identity that would be useless to her.
This was a new body, a new life, a new family, a new name. Lillian couldn't live until she accepted that and she would because she was adaptable. Lillian would curve with this ball life had thrown at her.
-Jaika is curious about what her Hunter is thinking.-
"You have hardly any faith in me if you think it will take me two years to reach rank D," Lillian laughed. She'd do better.
-Jaika is amused.-
"I'll do better than that." Lillian sat up and glared at her hands. "I have to be better than that."
-Jaika is excited to see what her Hunter will do.-
Tomorrow, Lillian would be Leko. She would be a he.